


five times missed.

by DatoPotato



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily, F/M, batfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27376714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DatoPotato/pseuds/DatoPotato
Summary: It was a fleeting thought. One he had every time he glanced over at her face. He’d been having the thought more often, making his chest unbearably tight. It was suffocating him. So when he said it, he hadn’t expected anything. Maybe she’d laugh at him, in that way that she laughs so hard she snorts. There were five times in particular though, that he could recall as if they’d just happened the day before. Five moments where he felt so purely and wholly in love with her.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake
Comments: 12
Kudos: 26





	five times missed.

It was a fleeting thought. One he had every time he glanced over at her face. He’d been having the thought more often, making his chest unbearably tight. It was suffocating him. So when he said it, he hadn’t expected anything. Maybe she’d laugh at him, in that way that she laughs so hard she snorts. There were five times in particular though, that he could recall as if they’d just happened the day before. Five moments where he felt so purely and wholly in love with her.

The first time it happened, he had thought he may have been dying. 

It was an unbearably cold night. It was thankfully slow on patrol but he almost wished there was more criminal activity so he could force himself to move and warm up. They had taken to a rooftop to monitor the city, looking out at the cityscape.

“It’s freakin’ cold,” Stephanie complained beside him, her teeth chattering. 

Tim chuckled at her and took her hand in his. “There,” he said with a smile.

Stephanie paused, staring at him for a moment before she burst out laughing. “As if I could get any body heat through both our gloves,” she managed through chuckles. 

Even as she teased him for it, she never let go of his hand. His heart skipped a beat, Tim briefly wondered if that was it, if his heart was finally giving out. When he realized that he wasn’t dying, he let himself simply watch Stephanie. She glanced at their hands, a soft smile gracing her lips. That was it, that was the first time the thought had truly crossed his mind. 

——————————

The second time was when they were lounging in the manor one evening. Stephanie was reading something on her phone as Tim went over some paperwork. Though it seemed like he was working, really, he was way too distracted by Stephanie’s face. As she read, she would make faces at her phone, his eyes always wandering back to her from the page in front of him.

He managed to finally read the report, checking Stephanie beside him. His heart stuttered as he realized she’d fallen asleep on him. He carefully set the papers on the table on his other side, trying his best not to disturb her. 

“Hey, Timothy,” Jason started as he stepped into the sitting room, his voice unnecessarily loud.

He shushed his older brother as loud as he could, glaring at him as he did. When Jason mouthed an apology and backed slowly out, Tim relaxed back into the couch. His heart wasn’t racing like it had been the first time, it was a gentle pace that ached with longing to keep such a normal moment and stay in it, live just like that, peacefully.

——————————

The third time was at a gala. Bruce was hosting it so none of the family could leave first, Bruce telling them it wouldn’t look good if the host family disappeared. Tim disagreed, he thought no one would even notice them leaving. He had been having a particularly long day and he wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep for a week. Until he saw Stephanie, and then he felt like he could stay up for three more days without sleep.

She was even more stunning than usual, her blonde hair done up in a neat bun and a pale purple gown that fluttered around her and brushed the floor when she walked. Tim didn’t know anything about dresses but, holy _crap_. 

It had only been about an hour into the gala but Tim still couldn’t take his eyes off of Stephanie who looked like the picture of elegance holding a glass of champagne and chatting with Cassandra. 

“You gonna ask her to dance, or keep staring at her?” Dick asked him in a teasing tone.

Tim scoffed as he made his way over to where Stephanie stood, talking animatedly to Cassandra. Cass nodded to Tim, smirking as she waved goodbye to Stephanie. 

He held out his hand and fell into an exaggerated bow, “May I have this dance?”

Stephanie giggled, his chest tightening oddly at the sound, “I would be honoured.”

He took her hand and led her to the middle of the banquet hall with a small smile. The music was slow and sweet, so they simply swayed together. Dick caught Tim’s eye and gave him a thumbs up and a wink. Tim rolled his eyes but made a note to thank his brother later. 

They continued like that nearly the entire night, some people giving them weird looks and others smiling and reminiscing about youth. Tim didn’t care about anyone else. Stephanie’s smile and her hands in his were the only things he could see. His thoughts dominated by her and being with her like that for as long as possible. It was almost bittersweet when they had to leave the hall.

The next day, Tim tracked down every photographer that was there and paid an ungodly amount of money for any photos they got of Tim and Stephanie. He printed out the photos and put them in a box. He didn’t want to forget that night. To most, it was a normal gala, but for him, it was a night etched into his memory for eternity.

——————————

The fourth time he could recall the thought coming up was on a mission. Stephanie had come along as back up. Tim was dealing with a bunch of goons, one sneaking up behind him. He turned around just as Stephanie jumped in front of him, knocking the guy out cold with one hit. He wasn’t sure why but that had done it. 

“You ok?” She’d asked him after he hadn’t moved for a solid twenty seconds.

“Mhm, totally fine,” he told her with a smile, moving on and telling himself to focus. _No, not on her_ , he chided himself when his eyes wandered back to Stephanie.

——————————

The fifth moment was only a week before. Stephanie had been on patrol with Dick and Bruce. Tim nearly died when he received the phone call. Dick told him that Stephanie had been injured, that they weren’t sure how bad it was but they were bringing her back to the cave immediately.

He rushed down to the cave where they were, his heart beating wildly in his chest, feeling like it was in his throat. His nose was stinging with that familiar sensation as he pushed through his family to get to her. 

“Tim!” She called when he got to her, breathing hard. “What’s wrong, are you ok?” 

Tim looked incredulously at her, “Am _I_ ok? I just got a phone call,” he started, glancing behind him at Dick who looked only slightly apologetic. He took a breath in, grateful it wasn’t what he thought but he was going to kill Dick later for that call.

“Oh, about me?” Stephanie scoffed, “I’m totally fine, just twisted my ankle a bit.”

Tim let out a breath of relief, his body nearly collapsing. He realized then how dangerous their lives were, how quickly they could turn sour. He’d always known they didn’t live _normal_ lives, that it was a lot more likely they’d get grievously injured in a fight, but it was easy to forget that it can all be taken away from them so suddenly. It terrified him. 

He decided then that he wouldn’t let anything stop him, the next time the thought crossed his mind, he’d say it. He wouldn’t hold back, he would worry about how she’d react after. 

——————————

“We should get married.”

It was definitely sudden, but his mind wouldn’t stop reminding him of every moment he had thought they should just do it and get hitched. 

They had taken a night off to go stargazing in the woods. He felt all tingly as he lay next to her. His mind running wild with thoughts of how quickly the moment could slip through his fingers, how quickly he could lose these moments altogether. He tried to rid his mind of those thoughts, but instead, he ended up blurting it out.

Stephanie turned her head and halfway sat up to gawk at Tim. He didn’t meet her gaze, but he could feel it on himself, never leaving his face. He knew it was out of blue, to her at least. To him, it was something he thought about nearly every time he was with her now. 

Tim continued to stare up at the stars above them, they were so bright that night. Or maybe that was just him. 

“Are you serious?” Stephanie asked him and he worried his cheek. Should he play it off as a joke? His heart was racing and ever so carefully, he glanced at her. Her blue eyes shone bright, brighter than any of the stars and he felt the pressure in his chest, a weight that felt heavier when he was caught by her gaze.

“Yes,” he breathed quietly. He watched with rapt attention as Stephanie looked around them, searching for the words to say. He waited patiently, glancing between the night sky and her face.

Finally, Stephanie sighed and audibly flopped back to the ground. “Seriously. This is how you thought best to ask?” Tim turned his head to look at her before sitting up completely. “You didn’t think to maybe do it a little bit more romantic?” Her lips quirked upwards as she sat up again. 

“I just thought, you know we both risk our lives doing what we do, we never really know when our last chance--” Tim was cut off by Stephanie’s soft lips meeting his.

She grinned at him as she broke the kiss. “It could be worse, I suppose,” she breathed on his lips. 

Tim gently pulled away, “Is that a--”

“Yes, it’s a yes,” Stephanie laughed, her eyes shining just a bit brighter. “For a detective, you can be kinda slow.” Tim’s chest felt light, the tightness still there but a sudden sense of relief and something else he couldn’t yet name filling the space around them.

[Bonus]

“You know, I think that was pretty romantic,” Tim declared. When Stephanie just looked at him, he raised his eyebrows. “We’re under the stars, all alone…” He trailed off. He knew it wasn’t the _most_ romantic, but he thought it was better than when they were around other people. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen if he had brought it up when they were around his family.

Stephanie grinned at him, “Yeah, and then you just, out of the blue, popped the question. And, not even asked, by the way. You simply stated that we should.” 

Tim nodded, “Ok, fair. But, counterpoint, it was even more romantic _because_ it was so random.”

Stephanie raised an amused brow, “All right, would you like to support that point with some evidence?”

“Well, it goes to show that I don’t feel like that only during, you know, _heated_ moments,” he said quietly.

Stephanie nodded her head, “Ok, that’s very valid. But what about the statement?”

“Right, I mean it’s not like I was telling you we’re getting married. It was more like, just voicing my opinion,” Tim explained. 

“Yes, very interesting,” Stephanie nodded her head again as she giggled.

Tim sighed, taking her hand in his, “Now we just have to figure out how we tell everyone else.”

Stephanie stared up at the sky before a wicked grin spread on her face, “Or,” she spoke with a devious tone, “We could just not say anything…”

Tim considered it for a moment and then shook his head, “Could you imagine Alfred if we did that?”

Stephanie’s eyes went wide and she shook her head too, “Yeah, no, let’s forget that. That’s just too terrifying to even think about.”

They both chuckled and Tim added the moment with the rest of them, memorizing everything from the way she laughed, leaning back on her hands and looking up to the dark sky to the constellations she attempted to trace with her finger.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a rough day so here's this. Find me on Tumblr at Dato-Potato and shoot me an ask if you have something you want to be written or if you just want to say hi, that's cool too. 
> 
> Thanks for reading <3


End file.
